Obama's new best friend

November 09, 2008

Yes, voters want change -- and not just in Washington. Decade upon decade, the Illinois culture of political sleaze has cheated citizens of this state. Public corruption has distorted governance, thieved from innocents and alienated voters who now distrust many of the officials whose salaries they pay.

Today one unstoppable force of nature threatens the culture of sleaze and its insider financial deals, its illegal patronage hiring, and its pay-to-play contracts for cronies: Since his arrival from New York in 2001, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald has demonstrated the energy and integrity that, in time, could liberate Illinoisans from indentured servitude to criminals in government.

President-elect Barack Obama has said he'll keep Fitzgerald in the job, and we trust he'll keep his word. But Fitzgerald, who serves at the president's pleasure, has powerful enemies. They know that as his list of cooperating witnesses lengthens -- convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko may be joining that club -- so does his list of potential targets. Those with reason to fear Fitzgerald's breath on their necks would love to see him dumped -- or promoted high into Justice Department oblivion -- when Obama takes office.

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Fitzgerald's federal agents and prosecutors are investigating numerous arms of Chicago, Cook County and state governments. The Oct. 30 indictment of Springfield power broker William Cellini, and the Nov. 3 guilty plea from former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, are but two more beats in an accelerating drumroll of cases. These men long were viewed as members of an untouchable caste in Illinois politics: Through the years, how many U.S. attorneys have served in Springfield and Chicago without seriously probing their conduct?

This sense that the untouchables finally are under scrutiny is but one reason for Obama to continue Fitzgerald's service. The prosecutor also stands to be Obama's new best friend as he scrubs the president-elect's home state and its culture of sleaze. During this year's presidential campaign, John McCain used Chicago corruption as a means to attack Obama. McCain's TV ads strained too hard in trying to establish guilt by association. But they cannily exploited the perception nationwide that, as in Louisiana and New Jersey, honest pols are museum rarities here. McCain's ads essentially asked: If he's from Chicago, how clean can he be?

Obama can show his commitment to cleaning up this city and state by affirming that he meant what he said during the campaign: He wants Fitzgerald to stay. The sooner Obama silences speculation about the possible replacement of Fitzgerald, the better for both men: Obama will show that he's a man of his word. And witnesses to corruption will know they aren't cooperating with prosecutors who might soon have a new boss.

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Testimony during Rezko's trial alleged that high-ranking Illinois Republicans had conspired to have the Bush administration oust Fitzgerald. Near the end of the Cellini indictment, the feds formalized that allegation, with Cellini as one of the conspirators accused of attempting to halt Fitzgerald's investigations of public corruption here. Cellini's attorney says he is innocent.

As for Vrdolyak: A lot of the people now sweating over Fitzgerald's next moves aren't nearly as smart as Fast Eddie. If he couldn't evade this U.S. attorney, how will they?

The stakes for corrupt officials are high: They risk losing their careers, their pensions and their freedom. How long until the U.S. Bureau of Prisons opens an Illinois Wing -- deep dish pizza on Tuesdays, Bears games on cable -- in one of its penitentiaries?

Alleged political conniving to dump federal prosecutors tarnished the Bush administration. We trust that the Obama administration will avoid any such scheming.

Mr. President-elect, please tell Patrick Fitzgerald that his job future is as secure as yours. And invite Illinois officials to keep this independent and skilled prosecutor at bay not by angling to remove him, but by following the law.